Berkeley Carroll prides itself on playing anybody anywhere, whether it’s Ivy Prep League dynamo Poly Prep or PSAL powerhouse James Monroe.
The tiny Park Slope private school, which has long domianted the ACIS/PSAA Alliance, plays the games for experience, though it isn’t happy losing them. With four defeats in as many non-league contests, it made Monday’s visit to Van Cortlandt Park against Ivy foe Riverdale that much more important, in addition to the NYSAISAA seeding ramifications.
“I gave the team a little bit of a speech before the game and said, ‘play this game like we’re supposed to win,'” senior outfielder Robb Paller said. “‘It’s not good enough to just compete with them.'”
Paller’s teammates listened intently, then went out and picked up their biggest win of the year, overwhelming Riverdale, which entered action second in the Ivy’s, 13-8. in The Bronx.
“This was a huge game for us and for them because when seeding comes out, head-to-head stuff matters,” Berkeley Carroll coach Walter Paller said.
Robb Paller, the Columbia-bound outfielder and coach’s son, led the charge. He had four hits, including a three-run homer to pace Berkeley Carroll’s 14-hit barrage. Walter Paller joked Robb hasn’t made an out in almost a week.
“March he’s OK, April he’s up and down, atlhough because he’s older he’s a little more consistent, and in May, it’s like he catches fire,” Walter Paller said.
Anthony Spina’s two-run, two-out single in the first set the tone and the Lions (10-4) kept on adding on. Paller smashed a three-run shot in the second and Spina drove in another run in the fourth.
Freshman Ian Miller had arguably the biggest hit, a three-run triple up the right-center field gap. The extra-base hit extended a two-run lead to five in the sixth and opened the floodgates. The Lions added four more runs to make it 13-4 and give themselves more than enough cushion.
“Ian has so much confidence and he believes in himself and lets his talent speak for him,” Robb Paller said. “He almost never reminds us he’s a freshman.”
Youngsters such as Miller and Spina, who picked up the win in relief, have been essential to Berkeley Carroll’s development. The core four seniors of Robb Paller, first baseman Dan Schwartz, shortstop Andrew Timko and catcher/ace Joey Martinez, who also make up the top four in the batting order, have been consistently solid. With said players improving and gaining confidence, Robb Paller sees similarities to the 2009 team that won a program-first NYSAISAA crown.
“I’m starting to see the swagger we had two years ago,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was a forgettable afternoon for the Falcons (13-3), who have now dropped two in a row and three of six after a 10-0 start. They did score eight runs on eight hits and rallied for four in the seventh, but their defense let down starter Alec Silverman. There were bobbled grounders, misjudged fly balls in the outfield and mental mistakes that enabled the Lions to take extra bases. The schedule only stiffens from here on out, with Fieldston on Wednesday and Ivy leader Poly Prep four days later.
“We looked awful,” Riverdale coach Doug MacDonald said. “No one could field a ball, no one could throw a ball, no one could catch a ball. Hopefully it’s a little slump and we’ll bounce back. We have to start playing our best baseball and get ready for the playoffs.”
